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From laid-back beach towns to Maya sites, travelers are discovering all that the Grand Costa Maya offers

Intrepid Group has been 100 percent carbon neutral since 2010. Here’s why its new B Corp status matters, too.

Nine Reasons to Visit Puerto Rico Now

From a glampsite in Bali to Pablo Escobar’s former beach retreat, these lush getaways will charm you with their rustic, laid-back vibes.

Here’s your chance to help an island on the rebound—and take advantage of some sweet loyalty program incentives.

Through a number of different approaches, this organization is preserving some of the world’s most beautiful coastal regions for surfers and non-surfers alike.

Chefs bring fresh flavors from Portugal’s former colonies to Lisbon’s plates.

A journey into the ethnic neighborhoods redefining the City of Light

A tiny island in Samaná Bay, Cayo Levantado has three beaches but just one place to stay—an all-inclusive resort that’s surrounded by green. While the island isn’t private, it feels exclusive because the resort facilities and two beaches are just for guests. On the northeast side of the island, a third beach is open to the public during the day, with a small charge for non-guests.

Back at the resort, there are 268 rooms, suites, and beach villas, plus three pools, a spa, and activities like water sports, live shows, and an outdoor club on the renowned Bacardi Beach. Getting to Cayo Levantado from the mainland takes just 10 to 15 minutes by boat and is free for resort guests.

It was raining when we arrived in Donostia-San Sebastian, but the skies cleared on our second day, and we rode the funicular railway up Mount Igueldo to take in the view back on the city, La Concha Bay, and the empty beach. The “low” travel season had just begun, and the strange little children’s amusement park on the mountaintop had shuttered up for the fall and winter, adding just the right disorienting touch of weird desolation to the Basque country panorama.

Although Chile’s central coastline boasts a string of attractive beaches along with towns filled with visitors seeking relief from the heat, the truth is the water is freezing cold year-round due to the Humboldt Current that brings Antarctic water up the coast. You’ve got to go pretty far north to find temperate seas. Bahía Inglesa is a stretch of coastline where the turquoise waters are tranquil, the sand is white, and there are dozens of beaches—some are along waveless bays (perfect for children), and others are great for scuba diving, kayaking, and kitesurfing. The area has restaurants for all tastes, and while there are lots of lodgings, in summer crowds flock in, so reserve as early as possible.

The Bays of Huatulco are paradise. Made up of 37 beaches spread across nine Oaxacan bays, Huatulco has the beauty and luxury accommodations of its Yucateca sister Cancún, with an intimacy and seclusion that the world famous mega-resort just can’t match. Huatulco is warm nights, the smell of fresh flowers and the ocean, miles and miles of gorgeous beaches, delicious seafood, and some of the most original and beautifully designed hotels in the world. Planned and designated as a resort as recently as the 1980s, Huatulco is graced with hotels short in height and with architectural design that complements the tropical flora and beautiful coast. Everything in Huatulco is within reach: water sports, tours, hiking, horseback riding, boat rides, luxury spas, beautiful hotel pools, even a small but budding night life. While many of the coastal hotels are on the pricey to very-pricey side, budget conscious travelers can find more modest accommodations in nearby Crucecita. And the best thing about the Bays of Huatulco is free: golden-sand, secluded beaches and bays to explore and relax on, where you can imagine yourself a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island.

Ranging from historic riads to big-name resorts, hotels in the Red City are as magical as you’d imagine, with unique amenities like luxurious hammams, central courtyard pools, and rooftop terraces with sweeping views of the Atlas Mountains. Whether you want a place with mint tea, traditional Moroccan décor, or a restaurant once frequented by Winston Churchill, you can find it here, all in close proximity to attractions like the Jardin Majorelle, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Djemaa el Fna Square, Bahia Palace, and the Saadiens Tombs.

This week on Travel Tales by Afar, Dr. Jessica B. Harris shares the strands that make up America’s culinary braid.

Remote and difficult to access, this three-mile beach on the Dominican Republic’s southwestern Caribbean coast (15 miles from Pedernales and close to the Haitian border) is also blissfully uncrowded. Playa Bahia de las Águilas, which translates to “Bay of Eagles,” can only be reached via a four-wheel-drive vehicle on an unpaved road, or a 15-minute speedboat ride from the little village of La Cueva at Cabo Rojo. Once there, however, you’ll discover a pristine beach, bordered by rocky cliffs and free of any hotels or restaurants—the beach is located in the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve, so building is forbidden. Turquoise water laps the white sand, while well-preserved coral reefs wait just offshore. Don your mask and snorkel to see starfish, sand dollars, and maybe even a manatee. Also remember to bring water and sunscreen as there’s virtually no shade, and pack lunch or plan to eat in nearby La Cueva.